Coal Size in Older Hand Fired Hopper Fed Stoves

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caucapon
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Joined: Thu. Jan. 17, 2008 4:04 pm

Post by caucapon » Fri. Oct. 15, 2010 10:34 am

We burned hard coal in both a converted Vermont Castings stove and a Surdiac stove back in the early eighties. We also self-installed and ran a Monarch coal furnace (very poor grate) during that same period. This was in central N.J., and we had no difficulty obtaining coal in any size. My wife and I are now retired in Southwestern Virginia and are seriously contemplating obtaining a simple hopper-fed stove to heat our 600 sq. ft. living room. The remainder of our house is heated with electric baseboard and an Austroflamm Integra II pellet stove. Since this region is extremely rural, extended power outages are not unknown, and we would like to have at least one room heated with a non-electrical appliance that offers realistic burn times.

Many of the newer residential coal stoves are fitted with all the bells and whistles and seem to be as dependent upon the grid as any pellet stove. Their price tags are a serious deterrent for anyone interested in obtaining a heat source that is economical from the get-go. For that reason, we have been thinking of purchasing one of the older stoves similar to what we used all those years ago. Because of our location, this task is rather daunting. Candidly, there apparently has been almost no market in our part of the state for hard coal burning appliances for decades. We have discovered that a round trip of two to five hundred miles is almost always necessary to view/purchase a decent used unit. Also, we have been able to locate only one valid anthracite retail source and that is fifty miles away. This dealer offers only rice and nut coal.

What can be expected if we exclusively use nut coal in an old classic like a Franco Belge 14.1475? Will this size drop reliably from the hopper on its highest setting? Will we have almost no effective control over burn rate given this coal size's larger air gaps? Will much coal remain unburned? Will ash build-up be a constant problem? Will we be unable to extract burn times in excess of ten hours from a full hopper in mild weather on a reliable basis? Will there be a great risk of over-firing even if prudence is observing while operating?

Also, if anyone on this forum has anything significant to say about the Nestor Martin Harmony III hopper-fed units currently being sold on eBay in the $800 range, we would also appreciate that. This is the only new stove that we are currently considering. It's actually within our price range and appears to meet our other criteria! We've done a search within this forum on the Harmony III and uncovered a few general comments. Perhaps at this point, someone has extended experience with this model.

Thanks for any info. This forum is greatly appreciated.

 
CapeCoaler
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Posts: 6515
Joined: Sun. Feb. 10, 2008 3:48 pm
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: want AA130
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine BS#4, Harman MKII, Hitzer 503,...
Coal Size/Type: Pea/Nut/Stove

Post by CapeCoaler » Fri. Oct. 15, 2010 11:49 am

DS Machine Stoves makes a great hopper coal stove that needs no electric power...
Long burn times and bimetallic air control...

You can keep this stove at a low burn to heat just that room...
Or push it harder to keep the house from freezing up if need be...
The DS Basement #4 only cost me $1400 new and that is a 130k BTU stove...
Hitzer makes a good hopper stove also...
http://www.hitzer.com/products/stove/Model-30_95- ... per-Stove/
But I like the DS Machine better...
Last edited by CapeCoaler on Sat. Apr. 01, 2017 3:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: <removed dead link>


 
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N2wly
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Posts: 36
Joined: Sun. Jul. 21, 2019 7:20 pm
Location: NEW JERSEY
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Franco Belge 10.275
Coal Size/Type: Pea

Post by N2wly » Wed. Jan. 06, 2021 8:06 pm

I have an older Franco Belge coal stove 10.275 and burn pea or nut coal with no problems going through the hopper. It will run a good 8 hours on half a hopper full of coal.

 
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2001Sierra
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Posts: 2211
Joined: Wed. May. 20, 2009 8:09 am
Location: Wynantskill NY, 10 miles from Albany
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90 Chimney vent
Coal Size/Type: Rice
Other Heating: Buderus Oil Boiler 3115-34

Post by 2001Sierra » Thu. Jan. 07, 2021 11:17 am

I burned a hopper fed German Buderus 3115 for 25 plus years before getting a Keystoker 90. I did fairly well with the Buderus but did struggle with ashing up as this is a common complaint of European stoves from the 70/80 's. I did not find this forum until buying the Keystoker and was not aware of all the newer Amercian made hopper stoves that were better at burning what we have in this country. I do not look back on what I bought., but do think about the quieter running American made hopper fed stoves that are more efficient at shaking than the European shakers grates that require knifing the ash to clear the grates well as shaking.
I trust the recommendations and opinions of our seasoned members here.

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